Pathfinder Pioneer

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Race of Aces

WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky

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In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command. What developed was a wild three-year sprint for fame and glory, and the chance to be called America's greatest fighter pilot. The story has never been told until now.

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Baa Baa Black Sheep

The True Story of the "Bad Boy" Hero of the Pacific Theatre and His Famous Black Sheep Squadron

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Here, in his own words, is the true story of America's wildest flying hero, of his extraordinary heroism, and of his greatest battle of all-the fight to survive. The World War II air war in the Pacific needed tough men like Colonel Pappy Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron. The legendary Marine Corps officer and his bunch of misfits, outcasts, and daredevils gave a new definition to "hell-raising" - on the ground and in the skies.

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Air Apaches

The True Story of the 345th Bomb Group and Its Low, Fast, and Deadly Missions in World War II

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Robertson Dean

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The American 345th Bomb Group - the Air Apaches - was legendary in the war against Japan. The first fully trained and fully equipped group sent to the South Pacific, the 345th racked up a devastating score against the enemy. Armed to the teeth with machine guns and fragmentation bombs, and flying their B-25s at impossibly low altitudes - often below 50 feet - the pilots and air crews strafed and bombed enemy installations and shipping with a fury that helped cripple Japan.

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Great Info About a Little Discussed Part of WW2

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Tail-End Charley

Stories from an American Fighter Pilot in World War II

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James E. Brown

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Bob Souer

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

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On his 19th birthday, James E. Brown tries to fake to his flight instructor that he has flown before. On his 21st birthday, Brown is on his way home after logging 85 missions in a P-47 fighter over Italy, France, and Germany. Brown's stories surrounding his training and combat experiences in World War II reveal brushes with death, continuous peril and, ultimately, a coming of age for a young man whose freshman year in college becomes instead a heroic engagement with one of the fiercest enemies his country has ever encountered.

5 out of 5 stars

Good read !

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Voices of the Pacific

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Adam Makos

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Chronicling the United States Marine Corps’ actions in the Pacific theater of operations,
Voices of the Pacific presents the true stories of heroism and honor as told by such World War II veterans as Sid Phillips, R. V. Burgin, and Chuck Tatum - whose exploits were featured in the HBO miniseries
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Spearhead

An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

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Adam Makos

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Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins

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From the author of the international best seller A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel - and forge an enduring bond with his enemy.

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By
Anonymous User
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Race of Aces

WWII's Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky

By:
John R. Bruning

Narrated by:
Brian Troxell

Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
276

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
257

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
254

In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command. What developed was a wild three-year sprint for fame and glory, and the chance to be called America's greatest fighter pilot. The story has never been told until now.

5 out of 5 stars

Incredible story

By
Andy
on
01-31-20

Baa Baa Black Sheep

The True Story of the "Bad Boy" Hero of the Pacific Theatre and His Famous Black Sheep Squadron

By:
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington

Narrated by:
Eric Martin

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
371

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
334

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
331

Here, in his own words, is the true story of America's wildest flying hero, of his extraordinary heroism, and of his greatest battle of all-the fight to survive. The World War II air war in the Pacific needed tough men like Colonel Pappy Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron. The legendary Marine Corps officer and his bunch of misfits, outcasts, and daredevils gave a new definition to "hell-raising" - on the ground and in the skies.

4 out of 5 stars

Who picked the narrator?

By
D. DAVIS
on
08-21-19

Air Apaches

The True Story of the 345th Bomb Group and Its Low, Fast, and Deadly Missions in World War II

By:
Jay A. Stout

Narrated by:
Robertson Dean

Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
556

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
512

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
512

The American 345th Bomb Group - the Air Apaches - was legendary in the war against Japan. The first fully trained and fully equipped group sent to the South Pacific, the 345th racked up a devastating score against the enemy. Armed to the teeth with machine guns and fragmentation bombs, and flying their B-25s at impossibly low altitudes - often below 50 feet - the pilots and air crews strafed and bombed enemy installations and shipping with a fury that helped cripple Japan.

5 out of 5 stars

Great Info About a Little Discussed Part of WW2

By
B Taub
on
03-16-19

Tail-End Charley

Stories from an American Fighter Pilot in World War II

By:
James E. Brown

Narrated by:
Bob Souer

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
127

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
113

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
113

On his 19th birthday, James E. Brown tries to fake to his flight instructor that he has flown before. On his 21st birthday, Brown is on his way home after logging 85 missions in a P-47 fighter over Italy, France, and Germany. Brown's stories surrounding his training and combat experiences in World War II reveal brushes with death, continuous peril and, ultimately, a coming of age for a young man whose freshman year in college becomes instead a heroic engagement with one of the fiercest enemies his country has ever encountered.

5 out of 5 stars

Good read !

By
kevin
on
06-19-18

Voices of the Pacific

Untold Stories from the Marine Heroes of World War II

By:
Adam Makos

Narrated by:
Tom Weiner

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
397

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
359

Story

5 out of 5 stars
353

Chronicling the United States Marine Corps’ actions in the Pacific theater of operations,
Voices of the Pacific presents the true stories of heroism and honor as told by such World War II veterans as Sid Phillips, R. V. Burgin, and Chuck Tatum - whose exploits were featured in the HBO miniseries
The Pacific - and their marine buddies from the legendary First Marine Division.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent anecdotes and wonderful narration

By
Chuck D
on
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Spearhead

An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

By:
Adam Makos

Narrated by:
Johnathan McClain

Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
2,178

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
2,047

Story

5 out of 5 stars
2,035

From the author of the international best seller A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel - and forge an enduring bond with his enemy.

5 out of 5 stars

An Exceptional Story

By
Anonymous User
on
03-12-19

To the Limit

An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam

By:
Tom A. Johnson

Narrated by:
David Drummond

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
306

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
284

Story

5 out of 5 stars
283

From June 1967 to June 1968, Tom Johnson accumulated an astonishing 1,600 flying hours piloting the UH-1 "Iroquois" - better known as the "Huey" - as part of the famous First Air Cavalry Division. His battalion was one of the most decorated units of the Vietnam War, and helped redefine modern warfare. Johnson's riveting memoir takes us into key battles and rescue missions, including those for Hue and Khe Sanh. In harrowing detail, he tells of being shot down in the battle of A Shau Valley, of surviving enemy attacks during the Tet Offensive, and of a death-defying nighttime river rescue.

4 out of 5 stars

Huey pilot's perspective of the 67-68 Vietnam war.

By
Jim
on
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Big Week

The Biggest Air Battle of World War II

By:
James Holland

Narrated by:
Grover Gardner

Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
365

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
338

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
334

During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-points of World War II.

5 out of 5 stars

War in the Air: Sets stage with gripping narrative

By
Nashville Cat
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11-17-18

MiG Alley

The US Air Force in Korea, 1950-53

By:
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Narrated by:
David de Vries

Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
52

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
44

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
44

Of the many myths that emerged following the end of the Korean War, the prevailing one in the West was that of the absolute supremacy of US Air Force pilots and aircraft over their Soviet-supplied opponents. The claims of the 10:1 victory-loss ratio achieved by the US Air Force fighter pilots flying the North American F-86 Sabre against their communist adversaries, amongst other such fabrications, went unchallenged until the end of the Cold War, when Soviet records of the conflict were finally opened. From that point onwards, a very different story began to emerge.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

By
Lorne
on
11-27-19

The Tank Killers

A History of America's World War II Tank Destroyer Force

By:
Harry Yeide

Narrated by:
Bob Souer

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
77

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
65

Story

4 out of 5 stars
64

The Tank Killers follows the men who fought in the tank destroyers from the formation of the force in 1941 through the victory over the Third Reich in 1945. It is a story of the American Tank Destroyer Force in North Africa, Italy, and the European Theater during World War II, and of American flexibility and pragmatism in military affairs.

3 out of 5 stars

Dry and without detail

By
Vernon D. Burt
on
08-06-18

Where Away: A Modern Odyssey

By:
George Sessions Perry

Narrated by:
Michael Anthony

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Unabridged

Overall

0 out of 5 stars
0

Performance

0 out of 5 stars
0

Story

0 out of 5 stars
0

George Sessions Perry was a journalist and novelist who served as a war correspondent through the course of the Second World War. The author Isabel Leighton co-wrote Where Away: A Modern Odyssey with Perry, a book which was first published in 1944. On February 4, 1942, the light cruiser, USS Marblehead, was part of a combined American, Australian, British and Dutch fleet patrolling the seas around the Dutch East Indies when 36 Japanese bombers attacked.

Duel Under the Stars

The Memoir of a Luftwaffe Night Pilot in World War II

By:
Wilhelm Johnen,
James Holland

Narrated by:
Steven Crossley

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
75

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
68

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
68

Listen to this captivating memoir by Wilhelm Johnen who flew his first operational mission in July 1941, having completed his blind-flying training. In his first couple of years he brought down two enemy planes. The tally went up rapidly once the air war was escalated in spring 1943, when Air Marshal Arthur Harris of the RAF Bomber Command began the campaign dubbed the Battle of the Ruhr.

5 out of 5 stars

The best pilots in history

By
Nick Broms
on
06-16-18

Black Thursday

The Story of the Schweinfurt Raid

By:
Martin Caidin

Narrated by:
David Colacci

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
143

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
125

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
125

On Thursday, October 14, 1943, 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses set out for a strategic bombing raid on the factories in Schweinfurt. Sixty of those planes never returned and 650 men were lost during the course of that mission. It was the greatest failure that the United States Air Force had ever suffered and became known as "Black Thursday". Martin Caidin's Black Thursday: The Story of the Schweinfurt Raid is a brilliant account of that day that should never be forgotten. This audiobook uncovers in thrilling detail the build-up to that fateful raid.

5 out of 5 stars

The Best Look at Bomb Groups of the 8th

By
Nicholas Robinson
on
09-19-18

Blood Red Snow

The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front

By:
Günter K. Koschorrek

Narrated by:
Nigel Patterson

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
717

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
645

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
642

Gunter K. Koschorrek was a machine-gunner on the Russian front in WWII. He wrote his illicit diary on any scraps of paper he could lay his hands on. As keeping a diary was strictly forbidden, he sewed the pages into the lining of his thick winter coat and deposited them with his mother on infrequent trips home on leave. The diary went missing, and it was when he was reunited with his daughter in America some 40 years later that it came to light and became Blood Red Snow.

5 out of 5 stars

Simply one of the best.

By
S. H. Moore
on
05-31-19

Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway

By:
David Rigby

Narrated by:
David Stifel

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
41

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
36

Story

4 out of 5 stars
36

The story of the man who won the battle of Midway and avenged Pearl Harbor for the United States. During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told - until now.

3 out of 5 stars

Somewhat disapointing.

By
Brownshirt
on
01-17-20

Indestructible

One Man's Rescue Mission That Changed the Course of WWII

By:
John R. Bruning

Narrated by:
Brian Troxell

Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
906

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
833

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
833

December 1941: Manila is invaded, and US citizen and Philippines Airlines manager Pappy Gunn is ordered to fly key military command out of the country, leaving his family at home. So Gunn was miles away when the Japanese captured his wife and children, placing them in an internment camp where they faced disease, abuse, and starvation. Gunn spent three years trying to rescue them. His exploits became legend as he revolutionized the art of air warfare, devising his own weaponry, missions, and more.

5 out of 5 stars

You will love Pappy's story

By
A. L. DeWitt
on
11-15-16

Whispers in the Tall Grass

By:
Nick Brokhausen

Narrated by:
George Spelvin

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
496

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
455

Story

5 out of 5 stars
450

On his second combat tour, Nick Brokhausen served in Recon Team Habu, CCN. This unit was part of MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group), or Studies and Observations Group as it was innocuously called. The small recon companies that were the center of its activities conducted some of the most dangerous missions of the war, infiltrating areas controlled by the North Vietnamese in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The companies never exceeded more than 30 Americans, yet they were the best source for the enemy's disposition.

5 out of 5 stars

OUTSTANDING

By
James
on
12-21-19

Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II

By:
Philip Ardery

Narrated by:
James Killavey

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
81

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
76

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
74

"The sky was full of dying airplanes" as American Liberator bombers struggled to return to North Africa after their daring low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti. They lost 446 airmen and 53 planes, but Philip Ardery's plane came home. This pilot was to take part in many more raids on Hitler's Europe, including air cover for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This vivid firsthand account records one man's experience of World War II air warfare.

5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating...and true story

By
Loretta
on
06-24-15

Publisher's Summary

In this engaging audiobook, we see how an 18-year-old miner shoveling ore from deep in the ground in Utah suddenly found himself, only two years later, 30,000 feet in the air over Nazi Germany, piloting a Flying Fortress in the first wave of America's air counteroffensive in Europe.

Like thousands of other young Americans, Ray Brim was plucked by the US Army to be a combat flyer and was quickly pitted against the hardened veterans of the Luftwaffe. Brim turned out to have a natural knack for flying, however, and was assigned to the select squadron developing lead Pathfinder techniques while experimenting with radar. He was among the first to test the teeth of the Luftwaffe's defenses, and once those techniques had been honed, thousands of other bomber crews would follow into the maelstrom, from which 80,000 never returned.

Pathfinder Pioneer gives us vivid insights into the genesis of the American air campaign, told with the humor, attention to detail, and humility that captures the heart and soul of our Greatest Generation.

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

A Good Recounting of WW2 Bomber Missions

A good recounting of a B17 captain's time on missions and a life story. I would recommend as a good recounting of a bomber tour in the 8th Airforce in Europe and the training before and a life afterwards. A bit spoiled by sloppy editing and a lot wrong facts which a good editor should have picked up.